An inflatable bag unit, disposed within a supporting structure such as a panel dash or other fixed portion of a car body in opposing relation to a seat in the vehicle plays an important role in protecting the passengers in a vehicle from injury due to collision against the car body. Typically, the air bag is inflated rapidly by the pressure of a reaction gas released from an inflator during a collision. This gas generation is effected when a gas generating agent in the inflator induces a chemical reaction by a collision signal from a collision detecting sensor when the deceleration of the vehicle exceeds a certain level. The gas which is generated by the inflator is then conveyed to the bag container which expands outwardly as it fills with gas to create a protective barrier between the vehicle occupant and the dash panel or other portion of the vehicle body against which the occupant might otherwise be thrown.
Air bag systems have been used in the past to protect both the operator of the vehicle and passengers. Systems for the protection of the vehicle operator have typically been mounted in the steering column of the vehicle and utilize a bag construction which may be deployed directly towards the driver utilizing the steering column as the base for such deployment. Some drivers-side air bag systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,580,603 to Chute issued May 25, 1971; U.S. Pat. No. 3,618,979 to Gulette issued Nov. 9, 1971; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,752,501 to Daniel, et al. issued Aug. 14, 1973.
Systems for the protection of vehicle passengers have typically been mounted to the dash panel of the vehicle for deployment outwardly directly towards the occupant from a substantially vertical section of the dash panel. In instances where the configuration of the dash panel does not provide a substantially vertical section from which the bag may be deployed directly towards the occupant, such as in the case of a highly sloped dash, air bags have been deployed from the upper surface of the dash panel and have utilized a combination of windshield slope and bag design to direct the inflated bag outwardly from against the windshield glass into a position between the dash panel and the occupant. The use of such non-vertical mounting orientations has, however, generally required the use of bags having complex geometries to cover the dash panel and protect the occupant. Such geometries are typically achieved by means of relatively complex construction practices which include the use of internally disposed straps or tethers to effect the proper expanded configuration. One such bag design is illustrated in the accompanying FIG. 8. As will be appreciated, such complex designs may lead to higher costs due to a limited ability to automate production, while at the same time failing to maximize fabric utilization due to the use of multiple odd-shaped fabric sections. Some prior passenger bag systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,300 to Ziomek, et al. issued Jun. 27, 1989; U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,761 to Henseler issued May 28, 1991; U.S. Pat. No. 5,087,071 to Wallnet et al. issued Feb. 11, 1992; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,090,729 to Watanabe issued Feb. 25, 1992.
Systems to deploy an inflatable bag directly towards an occupant from a vertically mounted orientation within the dash panel as well as systems for indirectly deploying (i.e. by means of interaction with the windshield) a complex asymmetrical bag from a non-vertically mounted orientation have thus previously been recognized. The present invention, however, provides a useful system for direct deployment of a simple bag design towards the occupant from a non-vertically mounted orientation, thereby avoiding the need to make use of vertical portions of the dash panel or other support structure.